After
by Laurie Makensri
Summary: Okay, I know, corny title. Oh well. Kel and Cleon fans will hate me forever for this, while Neal fans (like myself) will be rejoicing. Don't flame me too bad! Please??


  
Nealan of Queenscove walked through the doorway. There were tearstains on his cheeks, since he was there to pay his respects to a very dear, dear friend.  
  
"Neal?" a you man, now twenty-two, asked quietly.  
  
"It's me, Roald."  
  
"Good. So what's been up with you?"  
  
"Nothing much. I've been on border patrols for a long time. Is she here yet?"  
  
Roald shook his head. "A messenger came by a little while ago. He said there was an immortal problem at the fief, so she had to stay and make sure it was taken care of."  
  
Then the door opened. A young woman, twenty or so, walked into the room. She was wearing gray hose and shirt, with a black tunic over it. Neal felt his heart break at the sight of her.  
  
"Kel?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"I'm really sorry, Kel. Cleon was one of the best human beings I ever meant, let alone knight."  
  
Keladry of Kennan nodded. "Not to mention a wonderful husband."  
  
"I have to go. Kel, I'll be there for the funeral tomorrow, all right?" Roald asked, and Kel nodded.   
  
The two of them stood in uneasy silence for a little. Neal finally decided to talk. "So, what's going to happend to you?"  
  
Kel answered, "The fief's going to Cleon's brother. I'm going back to Mindelan, I think."  
  
"Oh." Silence.  
  
"So..." Neal began.  
  
"Oh, Neal," Kel said, interrupting him. She was sobbing. "I don't know what to do, I think I'm going mad, ever since that spidren killed Cleon...."  
  
Neal felt like his heart was being torn out of his chest. It was bad enough a year ago, at their wedding, knowing that Kel was marrying anyone but him, but it had been bearable, because she had been so happy...  
  
But now she was crying, and hfe felt awful to see her suffering like this. "Kel," he murmered, pulling her head against his chest. "You're not going mad, you're most of the most sane people I've ever met."  
  
"Cleon's family has been on me all the time, saying, so-and-so must come to the funeral, and so-and-so must get this, and so-and-so must do this, and--"  
  
"Shhh," he said softly. "Why didn't you talk to your mother, or your sister?"  
  
She took a deep breath. "Cleon's family never like my family. They were always feuding or something. Cleon's parents wouldn't let him rest until I agreed to not talk to my family again."  
  
"Oh, Kel," Neal realized how long she must have gone without saying this to anyone. "You could've talked to me."  
  
"Neal! Cleon's been mad at you for so long...."  
  
"Kel, I know that I have no right to say this to you, but after tomorrow, I don't want you to talk to the Kennans anymore."  
  
"Neal, they haven't left me alone, ever since..." she said in a hushed voice.  
  
"Since what, Kel?"  
  
She took a deep breath again. "They've been saying, since I was with Cleon when he died, that I set it up."  
  
Neal was shocked. How dare they? Didn't they think witnessing her own husband being torn apart by giant spiders was bad enough? And now they were saying that she wanted him to die?  
  
"Why in the world would they say a thing like that?" He asked silently, thinking that she didn't hear.  
  
"They--they said it was because I wanted to marry you."  
  
"What? How could they even think of it?"  
  
"And-- and I've been thinking, and now I'm not sure it's not true."  
  
"Kel, what are you saying? Are you saying that you think that you might've set it up?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Kel, don't you dare think that! Don't you dare!" He pulled her up and shook her, but his friend only sobbed harder. "Kel, please, I don't think I've ever seen you cry..." In a desperate effort to get Kel to stop sobbing, he pulled her close and kissed her, like he'd wanted to do for so long.  
  
She shoved him away, and said loudly, "Neal! What in the world did you do that for?"  
  
"Kel, listen to me. I've loved you since we were pages, I--well, I--Kel, do you know how much it hurt me on your wedding day? When I got the letter that said Cleon was dead, my first thought was, He's gone. My second one was, That means Kel's free. I'm sorry, Kel, but I love you!"  
  
Kel stared at him in shock. Then she looked away. "Neal, listen, I used to like you when we were pages, but then, when Cleon asked me to marry him, I--I was just so--blinded, by knowing that he wanted me to be his wife, that I forgot that I had ever liked you. Just before he died, I realized that I didn't really love him, not like I love you."  
  
They looked at each other in silence for a while, until they heard the voice of another person come to pay their respects--Faleron of King's Reach. "Kel," Neal began. "Why don't we talk about this after the funeral?"  
  
"That sounds good to me," she answered shakily.   
  
"So I'll see you later?"  
  
"Of course," Kel told him, and got up and left.   
  
Neal just sat still for a moment, thinking. Then his heart lighted. *So the saying's true,* he thought. *When one doorway closes, another opens.* And he got up and walked out, his head filled with thoughts of Keladry of Mindelan--and, if he had his way, soon-to-be Keladry of Queenscove.   
  
  
  
Author's Note: Sucks, I know, but oh well! Don't worry, I've just been trying to finish a few stories, then I'll work on Casseiopeia. Anyway, if you didn't pick this up, this is 2 years after Kel's been knighted, and she got married to Cleon when she was 19. Cleon's just been whacked apart by a spidren, so she's in Corus for his funeral.   
  
Anyways, I'll write one about Kel and Cleon soon, maybe a songfic *looks around in confusion as people run and scream in fear*, but, of course, Neal WILL be in love with Kel, he just won't end up with her. See ya!   
  



End file.
